O'Reilly, Alinsky, and Obama

Last night on the Factor, O'Reilly dedicated both his talking points and his first segment to the issue of Alinsky tactics in both the media and potentially even in the White House. O'Reilly dedicated both segments mostly to rule number 5:

Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.

Now, there is no doubt that the MSM reverts to ridicule at any chance. The recent case of both Carrie Prejean and the tea parties are just two of the most recent examples. During the 2008 campaign, the attacks on Sarah Palin were full of ridicule.



In fact, the media's fascination with anyone that believes in creationism is also full of ridicule. How many Republican Presidential debates included a question on whether or not the candidates believe in creationism? As Mike Huckabee often asks, what do such questions have to do with being qualified to be president?



Now, make no mistake, conservatives in the media also resort to ridicule. If you only read conservative blogs and listened to conservative talk radio you would have a caricatured view of President Obama and most Democrats. That said, these attacks aren't nearly as coordinated and organized as attacks on the tea parties, Carrie Prejean, and the fascination with creationism.



As for President Obama, O'Reilly makes the connection through some obscure group in Chicago I hadn't heard of before. The connection is much stronger than that. Alinsky was a hero to most on the left in the South Side of Chicago. He is the father of the community organizing movement. ACORN is rooted in Alinsky. Both Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod are familiar with the teachings of Alinsk, and as O'Reilly pointed out, even Hillary Clinton did her thesis on Alinsky in college.



I don't know if they are coordinated in some back room in the White House. Still, back when Barack Obama had relatively little power, he gained power through Alinsky methods. That's how folks with his political ideology gained power in the South Side of Chicago. Alinsky is a father and hero to the entire community organizing movement, ACORN, and thus most of the folks that Obama immersed himself with when he was still growing up professionally.

We have seen President Obama use Alinsky tactics against both Rush Limbaugh and the Tea Parties. You can be sure that his principles will be used often over the next four years, whether those tactics are coordinated or not.